Why giving tax relief to mortgage holders is not a good idea

With the European Central Bank raising rates to a 22-year high, should Sinn Féin’s proposal for an introduction of mortgage interest relief be entertained by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien?

Brendan Burgess, founder of the consumer forum, askaboutmoney.com, thinks it is a poorly thought-out plan. As he tells host Ciarán Hancock, despite the increases in mortgage rates, most mortgage holders are not in distress and can cope with the higher interest.

And with corporation tax receipts likely to exceed €26 billion this year, €2 billion more than the Department of Finance is currently forecasting, should that equate to a bumper giveaway budget come October, or will a lid be put on spending?

Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Economics Correspondent with the Irish Times, explains that perhaps following the Norwegian model of sovereign wealth is the way to go given our growing surplus.